Mark and Spencer

2266 WordsMay 28th, 201110 Pages

Marks & Spencer (A) Nardine Collier The M&S formula for success Michael Marks began his penny bazaars in the late 1880s. He soon decided he needed a partner to help run the growing firm and Tom Spencer, a cashier of Marks’ supplier, was recommended. From this partnership Marks & Spencer (M&S) steadily grew. Simon Marks took over the running of M&S from his father, turning the penny bazaars into stores, establishing a simple pricing policy and introducing the “St Michael” logo as a sign of quality. There was a feeling of camaraderie and a close-knit family atmosphere within the stores, with staff employed whom the managers believed would “fit in” and become part of that family. The staff were also treated better and paid more than in other…show more content…

The store managers followed central direction on merchandising, layout, store design and traning. Every M&S store was identical in the procedures it followed, leading to a consistency of image and a guarantee of M&S standards. However, it also meant store managers were severely restricted in how they could respond to the local needs of customers. During M&S’s growth there were few changes to its methods of operation or strategies. Its reputation for good-quality clothing was built on basics, the essentials which every

customer needed and would outlast the current fashion and trends seen in other high street retailers. As it did not have fitting rooms till the 1990s, all assistants carried tape measures and M&S would give a “no quibble” refund to any customer who was unhappy with the product he or she had purchased. As its products remained in the stores all year round for most of its history it never held sales. The success of M&S continued into the 1990s. Richard Greenbury, the CEO from 1991, explained this success:
We followed absolutely and totally the principles of the business with which I was embued....I ran the business with the aid of my colleagues based upon the very long standing, and proven ways of running it. (Radio 4, August 2000)

Successive chief executives were renowned for their attention to detail in terms of supplier control, merchandise and store layout; and it seemed to work. M&S’s success under Marks

Background
Marks and Spencer plc (also known as M&S and Marks & Sparks) is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. M&S was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer.
The firm is one of the top retailers in the UK with “over 21 million visitors each week in the M&S stores, and 76,000 employees globally in the UK and 41 overseas markets” (Marks and Spencer…

TEACHING NOTES
Marks & Spencer
Nardine Collier and Gerry Johnson
1. Introduction
This case study is about why one of the world’s most famous retails, Marks & Spencer, ran into trouble at the end of the 1990s and how it attempted to manage a programme of change to overcome those problems. It is therefore useful to explore issues concerned with organisational culture, strategic drift, strategic choice and the management of change. The case covers both the history of Marks & Spencer throughout the…

Marks & Spencer (A) Nardine Collier The M&S formula for success Michael Marks began his penny bazaars in the late 1880s. He soon decided he needed a partner to help run the growing firm and Tom Spencer, a cashier of Marks’ supplier, was recommended. From this partnership Marks & Spencer (M&S) steadily grew. Simon Marks took over the running of M&S from his father, turning the penny bazaars into stores, establishing a simple pricing policy and introducing the “St Michael” logo as a sign of quality…

MARKS & SPENCER (Individual Analysis)
Words Count:2064(excluding tables)
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Introduction:
Marks and Spencer plc is a UK-based company. The business is known best as a retailer. There are over 622 Marks & Spencer stores throughout the UK that sell clothing, food and household goods. The core of its retailing business is clothing, particularly women's.
What market segments do the three different product ranges serve? Assume that the Perfect and Classic ranges serve essentially the same segment…

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7. Appendices ……...………………………………………………………………………….…..40
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Chosen Topic and Its Context:
This research and analysis project, analyses the Financial and Business performance of Marks and Spencer Plc which is the holding company of Marks and Spencer group of companies, from the period of March 28th 2007 to March 29th 2009. This project has been carried out for the potential investor and shareholder prospective. It considers accounting and financial key ratio and…

Introduction
Per Una believe they “deliver high quality style for the modern woman.” This objective drives the company resulting in a turnover of more than £423.5 million in 2006/2007.
Per Una was detrimental to the revival of Marks and Spencer and it accounted for one quarter of their total women’s wear sales last year.
Born from George Davis in 2001, the label tries to replicate the Italian catwalk trends through “safe fashion” that is “trendy and stylish.” With this in mind is Per Una achieving…